Here are some helpful tips and information so that you will be well prepared for your camping trip. Please print them out and keep them handy so that your next camping trip will be safe and a good time for all.

1. Plan your trip so that you arrive at your actual campsite with enough daylight left to check over the entire campsite and to set-up camp.

2. Be sure to check the site thoroughly for glass, sharp objects, branches that could fall or are hung low.

3. Check the contour of the land and look for potential trouble due to rain. Check for areas that could flood or become extremely muddy and cause problems.

4. Look for level with enough room to spread out all your camping gear

5. Look for a site that has trees or shrubs on the side of the prevailing winds. This will help block the wind if it should gust or get quite strong.

6. Check for potential hazards at the campsite such as: poison ivy, bees, ants, sharp objects and other dangerous areas.

Camping at Gold Basin placers, Arizona

Fire is of prime concern at the campsite. Be sure you have an area for a fire that cannot spread laterally or vertically. When ever a fire is lit at the campsite be sure that someone is assigned to watch it at all times. Keep water nearby for emergencies. Be sure that when you put the fire out you use water and soil and be certain that the fire is completely out, cool to the touch. Embers buried within the pile of ashes have a tendency to reignite later.

1. Keep your campsite fires to an absolute minimum at all times.

2. Dispose of all trash properly in the proper recycling bins if available.

3. Return the campsite to its original condition for the next camper if you disturb it in any way.

4. Don't forget your good recycling habits on vacation. They are just as important camping as they are at home.

5. If you camp in an RV you should be extremely careful to travel on proper roads within the site so as not to get stuck. Also, check your R.V. before leaving home, on route, at the campsite upon arrival and before departure for any damage, repairs or maintenance problems.

Bush camp in Western Australia, Australia

For all tent campers, please be advised of where you are placing your tent or shelter. This is crucial in terms of the following:

1. Weather and rain - do not place your tent in a low-lying area for flooding purposes. If you absolutely have to, then dig a trench out around the sides. It does not have to be very deep. Three to four inches is helpful to detour the water around your shelter. If this is a state park area and you cannot do that, please respect their rules. Fill in these areas after you are done camping.

2. Beware of trail areas and animals - Many animals, especially hoofed animals such as elk and deer will move at night. If you are in the middle of a heavily traveled path, you may be trampled in your tent or shelter in the middle of the night.

3. If you are in a territory where there are bears - Clearly you want to have all your pans clean. Hang food and perishables as well as pots and pans you cook in at least 200 yards away from your campsite. You do not want to hang them 20 or 30 yards away from your tent area.

4. Do not place your tent under a tree - Sometimes this is impossible. If you are going to place your tent under a tree, please check and make sure that the tree is not dead, aging, or dead or loose limbs above. It has not been uncommon for limbs to fall from a tree onto campers’ tents, and injuring them in the middle of the night.

Prospector’s camp in the Outback. Check out dinner hanging down the hood; roasted Goanna - Yummy!

Always carry a medical kit of some degree with you. Band-Aids, topical antibiotics are helpful. Make sure everyone has their tetanus updates that are going camping. Depending on the length of time that you are spending camping, antibiotics may not be necessary. These are just a variety of medicines that you should have in your kit. Over the counter Imodium AD is always good to carry with you. It is very uncomfortable to get diarrhea on a camping trip. Flashlights are crucially important. Flashlights that work should be checked and double-checked. Extra batteries would be helpful to have on-hand. The LED flashlights have been a huge innovation in lights and they can burn anywhere from two weeks to a month on the batteries that are put in there and are extremely resilient.

Water is crucial, while water purification is even more crucial. Currently, there is no safe water to drink in North America or Canada. Water filtration as well as purification tablets and boiling are effective means to take out all organisms for drinking purposes. Make sure you bring enough water. Dehydration is not an enjoyable ailment and can lead to death in severe situations.

Tent camping in the tropical Northern Territory, Australia

Last, please remember that you are not in your home but in nature’s home. If you take care of her, she will take care of you. Please pick up all litter. In certain areas now, specifically in the boundary waters, you have to carry out your excrement. This area is not usually addressed. If you are in areas where it is not necessary to do that, please dig a hole far enough away from any water sources. Pick up all your litter. After you have packed up, turn around and look where you have camped and cooked and see that it is as clean, or cleaner than when you arrived.